The call followed last week's Scottish Parliamentary election which saw the SNP win 58 seats, just sort of the 65 required for a majority.

Professor Mark Strachan, president of the RCPE, said: ‘Now that the post-election dust is starting to settle, we are reiterating our call for an open, honest national conversation about the future of Scotland's NHS.

‘We want to see a healthcare convention established, which should involve politicians across different parties, healthcare professionals and the public. The scale of the challenge is clear: without changes to the funding envelope and without reform, it will become increasingly difficult to sustain a health system capable of providing comprehensive care for everyone, free at the point of use.

‘We urge the political parties to work together across the new Parliament to agree a transparent, long-term plan that protects the founding principles of the NHS for future generations.'

The RCPE referenced the political agreement on healthcare in Denmark in 2024, which was backed by a broad coalition of the three governing parties, as the type of deal the Scottish Parliament should work towards.

An SNP spokesperson said: ‘First Minister John Swinney has today written to the leaders of opposition parties in the Scottish Parliament, with the exception of Reform UK, to invite them to co-operate to deliver for the people of Scotland including on building upon the improvements we have made in our NHS.

‘In Government, the SNP led the Future Medical Workforce project with doctors this year with cross-party representation and our new Government will look to build on this.

‘The SNP has a plan for our NHS and it is working - and we will look to keep driving improvements constructively in the new Parliament.'

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton MSP said: ‘After two decades of nationalist incompetence Scotland's NHS is stuck in permanent crisis mode.

‘We've repeatedly urged John Swinney to back our bold plans to slash bureaucracy, boost frontline staffing and bring waiting lists down.

‘But instead of acting on our common sense proposals he chose to double down on his failed policies.

 ‘The Scottish Conservatives denied the SNP a majority meaning John Swinney failed to secure the mandate he said would be required to demand another referendum.

‘He should stop obsessing over the constitution and focus on urgently fixing the crisis in the health service.'

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: ‘Fixing our NHS was at the heart of my party's election campaign, and we will always focus our efforts on doing what is best for staff and patients. 

‘It's why, in our manifesto, we laid out plans to bring down devastating hospital waits by investing £400m into care over the next three years. It's why we want to recruit more specialist staff to work alongside GPs, easing their workload and getting more patients seen on time. 

 

‘Equipped with the extra votes and extra seats which people have entrusted to us, and using our powerful position in this new Parliament, we will continue to fight for change with fairness at its heart for our NHS.'